12 Tips for Long-term Investment Success

If you want to be rich, you should not rely on your paycheck. You will never be wealthy just being an employee until the day you retire. If you want to build wealth, you should make your money work for you. In other words, proper investment is the key.

Proper investments will lead to good returns and good returns will lead to more money.

A lot of people think that this is something which is very difficult to do. There is negative press surrounding the stock market and other investments right now. Suffice it to say that disheartening news such as this are scaring people away and discouraging them from making their money grow.

Here are a few tips which will lead to investment success.

Pay all debts before investing your money

Being debt-free is the start to the road of financial success. You will never be rich as long as you have debt, regardless of how small it is.

You should focus your finances first into becoming debt-free before you start investing on anything.

Freedom from debt is a step towards building your net worth. Net worth is assets minus liabilities. It is also a very bad idea to borrow money so you can start investing. This is a common mistake which a lot of people commit.

Do your research

Thanks to the World Wide Web, more information is now available for everyone to learn from. Take advice from various sources and educate yourself. Read as much as you can to analyze and understand investments.

Find someone who will teach you the basics of investing

Although there are various informative articles online, as well as books, which can tell you more about investing, it is still better to learn from an actual people who have invested and reaped profits. Nothing beats learning from people who have invested money and got more in return.

Talk to these people and learn a lesson or two about investing which can help guide you on the road to financial freedom.

Set a goal before you begin

Know what your goal is before you start. Ask yourself a very important question, “Why am I investing my money”? By knowing your destination, you will be more focused and you will be able to keep the ship on course.

Your goal will be your guide as you make important investment decisions. Without an investment goal, you are in terrible danger of failing and losing all your money.

Invest only what you can afford to lose

Only invest extra money. You should never sell your house or your car and get money from your children’s college fund for your investments.

You should not put your family’s well-being in jeopardy in the pursuit of earning more money. Although most investments succeed, there are others which also fail. Investing only what you can afford to lose sill help you sleep better at night.

Diversify

Do not put all your eggs in one basket. This is a very important rule which should be applied in investments. Spread your money across several companies. One of the easiest ways to do this is to invest in mutual funds.

When you invest in mutual funds a fund manager takes your money and everyone else’s and invests it in a collection of stocks.

Allocate your assets intelligently

When you diversify your portfolio, you will be spreading your money into more than one mutual fund. This is called asset location. Experts recommend investing 25% of your money into the different types of mutual funds, such as international; growth; growth and income; and aggressive growth.

Keep a long-term mindset

Mutual funds and other stocks are long-term investments. This means that you should only invest money which you won’t need in the form of cash in the next five years.

Do not worry too much about fluctuations in the market. Although the market might reach a low point, leaving your money in will help your investment balance go back up when the market recovers.

Reinvest dividends

A surprisingly large part of the overall growth in portfolios is from dividends which have been reinvested.

A yield of 3% or more may seem very small but it will make a very big difference over a period. However, you must make sure that you choose investments which have a solid history. This helps increase your chances of succeeding.

Review your portfolio regularly

One of the many reasons why people do not get the most from their finances is the fact that they neglect their portfolio.

Pay regular attention to your arrangements. You can also employ the help of a regular and independent adviser who offers reviews.

Make regular contributions

Even if you can only spare as little as $20 a month, you should continue adding to your investment portfolio. The money you put in will add up over time and before you even know it, you will have thousands of dollars in your account. If you have trouble setting aside money for your investment account, you should set up direct debit. This way you will never see or miss your money and you will never be tempted to spend your cash.

Do not think too much of your investments

Give your investments time. You will not see profits overnight and you will not become wealthy in just a month.

As mentioned earlier, investments are for the long term. Do not think too much about your money that you end up losing sleep and becoming a wreck. Monitor them but enjoy yourself, as well.

Investing is also a learning process which will teach you countless lessons that you will never find on books.

Investing is fun and can also be very rewarding. Following all the right steps can help ensure success and minimize losses. It is never too late to start growing your wealth by investing your money.

Be a smart investor and you will build a secure, happy and financially secure life not only for yourself, but for your family too.

Debt isn’t the 4 letter word you think it is. I can borrow very cheaply and invest that money. The returns I get (from VERY safe stuff) brings in double what it costs me to borrow.

As for the diversity… diversity to a point. You don’t want to be too broad or your money just stagnates. Too much diversity cost me 10 years of investing returns. My money didn’t start to grow until I close ALL of my mutual fund positions and I started buying specific companies.

Marilynn@Payday loan

Highly descriptive post, I enjoyed it!

Will there be a part 2? :D :D

Thomas

Great article, exactly what I wanted to find.

http://myinvestmentideas.com Best Investment Plans

Long term mindset is the key for the success of the long term investments where your money would be multipled… good article